


everything is happening.

by ryoji



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Alternate Universe - Mercenary, Alternate Universe - Science Fiction, Alternate Universe - Space Opera, F/F, F/M, Fake/Pretend Relationship, Female Lance (Voltron), Genderbending, Non-Graphic Violence
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-23
Updated: 2018-01-23
Packaged: 2019-03-08 10:21:13
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,342
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13456218
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ryoji/pseuds/ryoji
Summary: Allura looks around the crowd of people around her. They continue to laugh and talk all around her; nobody even bothers to steal a glance at them. She narrows her eyes at the girl, “It’s been awhile. Do you have the amulet?”“Well, you know how it is. Princess asks for me to steal a necklace off a ship, mercenary does that and realizes the ship is also galra, mercenary does the job but also finds out that it’s some magic amulet with some ship’s? Subconscious? Some crazy robot ghost lion’s memories? Princess doesn’t even ask how mercenary isdoing--”(Or: An Alternate Universe where a female!Lance is a mercenary just trying to get by, then she does too many jobs for a Princess.)





	everything is happening.

**Author's Note:**

  * For [](https://archiveofourown.org/gifts).



> This is my pinch hit for [Faye](http://someladyonline.tumblr.com) for the Allurance Secret Santa! I had fun building this world, and when I initially got this I was so excited, like "haha! I can finally give this prompt the love and attention it deserves!" Only, you know, then you get sick for two weeks and you end up being a little late with your gift. Anyway, I hope you like it anyway, I really enjoy writing these two and their overall dynamic. 
> 
> Also, I'm noticing with so many of my Allurance fics, I write them as a standalone one shot but I'm like: One day...I'll go back to this universe.

Nobody believes in the Alteans anymore.

Sure, for all intents and purposes Allura is royalty. She has a whole planet full of refugees, rather than anyone of her race, that she’s  _ supposed _ to be responsible for. She has enough riches to care for them, but not enough people believe her. Mostly, people take refuge on the planet for what they need, then leave to their real home.

She  _ also _ shouldn’t be spending her time being a leader for the rebels, but her father wouldn’t have liked her to stand around and watch people suffer. Arguably, he wouldn’t like where she’s ended up now either.  _ The Lion’s Head _ is an oddity on the planet of Xaslyria, a desert planet that had become a hub for deals and transactions like Allura would be making today. While it's definitely a seedy bar-restaurant combination where people found mercenaries and traded regular magical black marker goods, it is also  _ ancient _ . The building is made from old, red brick and the wallpaper had to be changed out every 20 years or so, before they decided not to bother with it at all. Now, with the wallpaper stripped away and a smell that stuck with you,  _ The Lion’s Head _ is one of the only things left over from the days of peace over 1000 years ago.

It’s rumored before the Galra took over that Xaslyria used to be a planet with oceans and rivers, known to be the center of trade. Then, the Galra made most of the planet’s species extinct, and left it alone once they exhausted its resources. The only reason Xaslyria hasn't been touched again is because there is nothing of value here besides information that the Galra could just pay anyone to get.

Allura didn’t know how much of that was true. After all, she has never grown up in a world that’s known peace, neither had her father before her. She pulls the hood even lower over her face, drinking her water and glancing around the area, she couldn’t find Lance  _ anywhere _ . She had only met the mercenary a handful of times before, and Allura is only vaguely aware of the reputation she has. She knows that Lance didn't work with the same people more than once. She also knew that Lance is actually a girl, which you wouldn't know until the day she takes a job from you. Other than that, most of their interactions were buffered by one of Allura's engineers, Hunk. 

She never asks how Lance and Hunk became best friends, but when Allura offered Hunk a home and job on Altea, Hunk breathed a sigh of relief and let out one of the most relaxed laughs in the world. “Oh yes, thank god, Lance definitely never stays in one place.” 

It’s true that Lance’s appearances are few and far between. Allura suspects that those appearances would be even more sparse if Allura had met the mercenary by chance, rather than through a mutual friend. Hunk also explained that Lance had a weird code; apparently she only did jobs for people usually only once, but she made an exception for Allura. 

“ _ It must be because it’s a favor to you, _ ” Allura reminded Hunk when he pointed this fact out about his best friend.

Hunk laughed then, as if there was some joke that Allura could never be in on. “ _ Noooope _ ,” Hunk just continues to smile wide, “ _ I’m pretty positive that’s not it. _ ”

“Is this seat taken?” 

Allura snaps out of her thoughts, and sees a girl with long braided brown hair, skinny and unassuming, who only stands slightly taller than the princess herself. She wears a brown leather jacket over a sky blue t shirt, the logo faded beyond recognition besides the orange lettering (SAY ANYTHING), and simple black pants. There is nothing overly  remarkable about her, except her steel blue eyes that contrast the rest of her appearance. Possibly, the most remarkable thing about Lance is how at first glance, she fits the role of a naive human that has never traversed away from earth.

Obviously, this isn’t Lance at all.

The second most remarkable thing about Lance, is how many guns she can hide with only one tight leather jacket.

Allura looks around the crowd of people around her. They continue to laugh and talk all around her; nobody even bothers to steal a glance at them. She narrows her eyes at the girl, “It’s been awhile. Do you have the amulet?”

“Well, you know how it is. Princess asks for me to steal a necklace off a ship, mercenary does that and realizes the ship is also  _ galra _ , mercenary does the job but also finds out that it’s some magic amulet with some ship’s? Subconscious? Some crazy robot ghost lion’s memories? Princess doesn’t even ask how mercenary is  _ doing _ \--”

Allura leans in with a harsh whisper, “You shouldn’t say any of this so loudly.” Lance rolls her eyes as she flags down a waiter, while Allura clears her throat, still whispering, “It’s just a microchip and memories from the Red Lion, it shouldn’t have been in their hands. It’s careless that it was with them in the first place, he even kept the amulet’s importance from me at first.”

Lance waves Allura off before she can explain anymore. She focuses instead on chugging as much of the beer the waiter drops in front of her, “Okay and Hunk mentioned the lions are alive or something.” As soon as Allura raises an eyebrow to lecture Lance about how Hunk shouldn’t be divulging weapon secrets to a mercenary, Lance groans, “Look, I’m still not sure why I’m running errands for a rebellion for you--”

“Not so loud!” Allura hisses out.

“Oh, nobody pays attention to me,” Lance waves her hand again dismissively before resting her head in her hands, “According to aliens, everyone from Earth looks the same anyway.” She picks her head up to chug the rest of her beer, and gestures to another glass that the waiter left, “This is yours, if you want it. Anyway, I just want to make it clear I’ll go to whoever pays,  _ even _ if it’s the Galra.” 

Allura huffs then, fighting the urge to stand up and glare at the girl in front of her, “You made me come all the way to this  _ bar _ to talk down to me? Is this your way of telling me you aren’t going to work for me again?”

Lance holds her hands up then, “Now hold on. I just...” She shifts her eyes away, and Allura’s eyes almost soften, but she holds her stern, neutral look. As she does so, Lance starts drinking the rest of the beer Allura wasn’t going to touch anyway. “Okay, look. I’m just not used to working for the same person a lot, especially for something... _ good _ . I need the money, more than anything.”

There’s silence for awhile, she watches Lance twist the end of her braid with one of her fingers, sigh, and take another drink of beer. She does this for about a minute, as if she’s fighting with herself about something. 

“Did I tell you why I became a mercenary?” She finally asks.

Allura raises a brow, “I didn’t think I could ask.” 

“I started by stealing things for my siblings. I’d go into town and grab whatever money I could. I figured out that I’m pretty good at running away, and I have a pretty good aim. You know, if I look as normal as possible and maintain a distance, nobody suspects a girl like me.” She shrugs her shoulders and takes another sip of her beer, before letting out a huge sigh and leaning against the wall. Another minute passes and Allura considers giving Lance her payment and quickly, but politely, leaving. Then, Lance speaks again, focusing on the clock on the wall instead of her, “Then, we got a cow.”

Allura opens, then closes her mouth instantly in thought. She’s trying to remember if a cow is a plant, food, or animal from Earth. Lance is giving her a glance, as if she really needed  _ her _ permission to continue this story, but Allura asks anyway, “What’s a cow?”

“Anyway, once we got the cow, I realized that I could get  _ more _ money if I left planets. Besides, Earth is lame, nobody ever travels and aliens hardly ever come over. It even took awhile for the  _ Empire _ to pay attention to us.” Lance makes a  _ tch _ sound with her tongue before leaning back against the booth, resting an arm on her shoulder, “Only, I never came back. Kaltenecker can handle my niece and nephew better than I ever could anyway.”

Allura gives Lance exactly five seconds to look into the distance and be wistful before she starts with the questions, “Who’s Kaltenecker? What’s a cow? Plus I swear you just called them your siblings earlier.”

“A mercenary always has to keep her secrets, I mean, some of that story is the truth.” When Lance says that Allura reaches into her cloak pocket and rummages for the bag of money. “Wait, wait!” Lance exclaims at her. Allura raises both of her eyebrows this time. 

What kind of mercenary didn't want their compensation as soon as possible? It didn't make sense compared to the other times that Lance met Allura. Usually their interactions were just as  _ interesting _ , but at least they were quick. She watches the girl bounce in her seat, tap her fingers against the booth table in anticipation, and her eyes grow wide with every passing second of silence. Allura lowers brows and lowers her arms, maybe she's just lonely, maybe she's just anxious. It's hard to believe that underneath the thieving mercenary, Lance is just a desperate girl trying to make it in the world. 

“Look, I'll do work for you still. It's just…could I be paid up front? Before a job? I could be a regular.” Lance twiddles with her thumbs on the table, then sets the beer aside, even if it’s still half full. “I’ve been missing Hunk. We used to travel everywhere together. You know, that’s why I’m Lance. I’m his right hand man, and you know, as a mercenary I can be anyone’s right hand man.” Lance sinks further down into the booth seat to rest her head, almost leaning on Allura’s shoulder. Allura wonders how someone who only showers as she touches down planets manages to still smell like salt and citrus. 

Then Allura figures that it’s just another piece to Lance’s facade. The girl had a lot of energy, but simultaneously embraced the fact she’ll always be in the background, and used it to her advantage. Allura admires that, so with a smile she sticks out one hand, “It’s always a pleasure to do business with you.”

Lance sits up, then shakes her hand with a wink, “Well then princess, I guess I’m all yours.” 

She holds back her groan, but she doesn’t speak either. Lance frowns but tries not to look defeated, just lets out a single awkward laugh, “Well, I always finish the job, so here’s your amulet.” Lance is light and careful when she clasps Allura’s hand, slipping the amulet into her hands. The chain is simple and gold, but the huge ruby at its center would have shined if any sunlight were in The Lion’s head. If you were to unclasp the ruby, you would have found a microchip with a robot’s secrets.

A robot from the days of a peace, and a robot, who saw those days end.

Before Allura gets a chance to thank her, she hears a crash at the door. She whips her head around and sees tall, noodle like creatures waltz their way in the bar. Everyone was staring, dumbstruck at the huge machine and shotguns in their hands. Allura glances around the bar and watches the chaos around her. At first, only a few were shuffling towards the door. Then, even the group of aliens with bull like heads and bodies, scramble out the door. All that remains are these creatures, the bartender (a man with empty black eyes, who simply sighs and put on some earbuds), Allura, and Lance. She stares at their tiny beady eyes as they draw closer, she  _ knows  _ these creatures. 

“Bi. Boh. Bi,” It hisses out in a high pitched voice. Lance jumps out of her seat and Allura raises a brow. 

“You understand them?” Allura doesn't mean to sound impressed in a situation like this, but here she is. “Usually humans just assume everyone wears translators for them.” 

Lance lets out a single curse and draws two pistols at her hips, “I don't, actually. Though you catch on to the universal language of getting your ass kicked if you're in this business, princess.”

Allura almost leans down into the booth seat and chooses not to say anything, besides she could definitely block some bullets with the magic she has. Plus, considering everyone cleared out so quickly, she didn’t even have to hide that magic or the fact she’s a princess. Only the fact everyone just  _ left _ bothers her, she looks at Lance, who stood on top of the booth, guns cocked.

It’s very unlike her, someone who usually operates from a distance and couldn’t handle a real confrontation without cracking a joke.

Allura’s eyes flash and she pulls Lance down from the booth at her sudden epiphany, “You  _ knew _ about this, didn’t you?”

“Not so  _ loud _ ,” She whispers as she pulls Allura closer to lean into her ears, “Yes okay! I was hoping...the Altean princess with a heart of gold would help out one of her employees. Yes, okay? Is that what you wanted to hear?”

“Not exactly,” she shrugs, sounding indifferent despite Lance’s words. Right now, Allura’s more focused on the grenade guns the creatures are holding. She needs a plan.

Only a second passes, before Allura has to hold back a smirk, “Besides Lance, they wouldn’t dare hurt you.” She doesn’t even let Lance let out a confused retort before she pulls back her hood, revealing her altean markings and features.

“Bi boh!” One of the creatures gasps at the princess, and they all flock to her at once, babbling in their language to her about  _ Lance _ . Allura lets them shove Lance out of her way with their guns and lets the mercenary fall to the floor. Allura lets them scream about the money the mercenary stole and now owed to them. Apparently, she had stolen tons of firearms, along with anything else of value she could grab when she was 14, and had been hunted by the creatures ever since. Plus, according to their leader, they  _ know _ Lance had been sitting on enough money. In fact, if Lance sold her ship, she could easily pay them back the money she owed. 

“I see,” The princess speaks evenly. She rubs her chin once and then nods to address their leader. “Bi Boh Bi, you know I value you and your planet's alliance with Altea very much. However, I can't allow you to kill this woman.” The aliens scream in protest, some begin to writhe dramatically at her feet, and the rest just make a point to tell Allura how much work it took to gather these people  _ and  _ their remaining firearms. 

Allura shoots Lance one glare (how many guns did one girl  _ need _ ?) before continuing, and placing one hand on Lance’s thigh, “She's...for now, my one and only royal consort.” At that, the creatures immediately fall into silence. One even drops a shotgun on the floor, and their leader gasps.

At that, a single gun fire goes off.

Allura tackles Lance to the floor before making her energy shield. Bi Boh Bi and his gang are all flexible and skinny enough that they avoid the bullet, almost becoming flat on the ground. It ricochets and lands where the bullet came from: the bartender.

The bartender screams at the bullet in his arm. Allura looks to the creatures, and she sees their heads slightly raised off the ground to get a good view of them. The bartender is still screaming, as Bi Boh Bi lets the rest of his gang know that they usually replace the bartenders daily at this place  _ because _ of situations like this. In fact, this is the fifth one they’ve replaced since hunting Lance.

Allura decides she has to sell this.

She kisses Lance full on, cupping her face with both hands as she leans down for the longest moment and tries her best to sound distressed. The key to doing that, according to all the Altean romance movies she watched, is only to sound a tinge hysterical and throw in a nickname, “My darling, are you alright?”

Lance’s face is pink as she sputters out, “My  _ darling _ ?”

Allura gives her another kiss to shut her up, and tries not to think about how much she enjoyed flustering Lance. It is almost too easy.

Allura rises up too quickly and brushes her dress off, stammering to the leader in her best attempt at their own language. Only, Bi Boh Bi puts a hand on her shoulder and smiles fondly at the two of them, “Bi boh bi, boh  _ bi.”  _ At their leader’s comment the rest of the creatures begin to approach Lance with newfound interest. They play with the braid on her shoulder and tease her for the blush on her cheeks, helping her off the floor she had stumbled on moments ago. 

Lance visibly red, glances at Allura, “Uh…what are they saying?”

“ _ I'm  _ saying how cute you are.” Allura watches Lance squirm as she makes her way back next to her in the booth, before whispering in her ear, “And  _ they're  _ wondering how someone as plain as you could land a gorgeous princess such as myself.”

She feels Lance's warmth against her cheek before Lance pulls herself away from her, crossing her arms, “I've always loved you for your modesty, your  _ majesty.” _

“Please Lance, call me Allura, while I settle your debt. All you have to do is stand by my side, and  _ be quiet.”  _ Allura hisses out those words with a smile on her face, laughing with the aliens, and giving them a bag of coins meant for Lance. Allura doesn’t even give time for Lance to process what’s happening. Instead, as Bi Boh Bi and their gang slam the door behind them, she whips her head back towards her and smiles sweetly, “I would consider yourself paid for another job up front, wouldn’t you?”

Lance doesn’t say anything for awhile, just finally finishes the half of beer remaining, before looking over to the bar, “...you know, none of us paid attention to the bartender, bleeding out everywhere. I think I probably owe  _ him _ money too, or you know, I do have a bounty on my head.” She stands up and scrunches her nose as she stretches her t shirt over her, “I need to get a different shirt.”

“We should leave,” Allura pulls her hood over her head again and makes her way out of the bar, mumbling a healing spell over the bartender who had since passed out from blood loss.  _ Yikes _ . “Besides, Lance, I really don’t think it’s the shirt that caught his attention. It could have been the fact you’re a girl named Lance, the fact you were sitting with an Altean princess and  _ mentioned this _ several times, or maybe the aliens who  _ also _ came to kill you?”

“So why kiss me, princess?” Lance’s voice is light and teasing, though there’s a challenge hidden in those steel blue eyes of hers. Allura chooses to ignore this and open the door instead, but Lance, of course, chooses to keep questioning her. “Why even deal with a mercenary like me at all?”

Allura thought Lance would give her a more difficult question. She shrugs and answers honestly, “I just think you need another friend, that’s all.” 

When they leave the bar, it feels like the start of something new. 

**Author's Note:**

> You can find me on [tumblr](http://seto.tumblr.com) and [twitter](http://twitter.com/heired).


End file.
